Politico whines about Water world’s quiet Trump freak-out.
A Native American tribe with a powerful water claim had an ultimatum for the Trump administration: Release money to protect the Colorado River — or fight over the future of the most important river in the West.
Uncharacteristically, the Trump administration backed down. The Interior Department released $105 million eight days later to repay the tribe for work it had done to line leaky canals and take other measures to protect a waterway that supports farms and cities in seven states.
It was a victory for Arizona’s Gila River Indian Community — and a rare success in cities, farmers and tribes' ongoing fight over drought funding from Democrats' signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act.
But the episode last month, previously unreported, underscores the alarm that Western officials are feeling over the Trump administration’s freeze of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for the waterway, which supports 40 million people and a $1.4 trillion economy but has been gripped by megadrought for more than two decades.
The Gila River tribe is still one of the few entities to have its funding freed up. Most entities with federal contracts for water-saving work are still waiting to find out if they’ll be paid.
The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Waitress on the Ramparts posted and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.
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